Tutorials

Color Selection in Graphic Design

Tutorial 3 with Matisse Template – Exercise 2

(Three color combination guide.).

Before -- After

Step 1

Open the Matisse template. You may download the template here.

Step 2

Hide all the layer groups except for “Level 1”.

Step 3

We’ll work with a black background this time.

Step 4

Create a palette from black to fill the rectangle. This time we will use a completely different “scale” of numbers. Here we’ve created a palette from black of range 60, and chosen a light blue. We then created a palette from black of range 30, and chosen a series of colors for the squiggles. For this piece we’ll be going with a proportional scale of 60, 30, 15… rather than the usual 40, 20, 10… we’ve been using. There is no “correct” scale. As long as the numbers relate proportionally to each other, the purpose is served.

Step 5

Show layer group “Level 2”.

Step 6

Fill the two rectangles using the Three Color Combination method. Here we chose a dark blue which is 15 from the blue, a light neutral color which is 30 from the blue, while both colors measure about 60 from each other.

Step 7

Fill the squiggles. The smaller shapes are 30 from the blue, while the large shape is 60 from the light color.

Step 8

The blocks are filled from a palette created from the dark blue with a range of 30.

Step 9

Show layer group “Level 3”.

Step 10

This time we’ll account for the blocks which drift over another color. We created a palette from the lighter blue, again with a range of 30.

Step 11

Fill the squiggle on the left with the same color as the others. The larger one was found in a palette from black at a 60 range, and through the 3 color process, was found to be about 30 from the blue.

Step 12

Show layer group “Level 4”.

Step 13

We fill the blocks with the same colors, and similarly repeat colors for the other shapes to finish the composition. The result is dynamic, vibrant, and well balanced.

Next - Exercise 3